Vertical filing cabinet with fixed or movable compartments for standing or hanging up the folders therein



June 7, 1%66 0, A, BECKER 3,254,930

VERTICAL FILIN CABINET WITH FIXED 0R MOVABLE COMPARTMENTS G ANDING 8. 1960 O. A. BECKER June 7, 1956 VERTICAL FILING CABINET WITH FIXED OR MOVABLE COMPARTMENTS FOR STANDING OR HANGING UP THE FOLDERS THEREIN 5 Sheets-Sheet d Original Filed Dec. 28, 1960 June 7, 1966 o. A. BECKER 3,254,930

VERTICAL FILING CABINET WITH FIXED OR MOVABLE COMPARTMENTS J llllllllllllllllllllllllllll/ United States Patent() and this application Jan. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 341,832 7 Claims. (Cl. S12-234.4)

This application lis a division of my copending application Serial No. 78,927, led December 28, 1960 and which issued on August 25, 1964 as U.S. Patent No. 3,146,046.

The invention relates to a tiling cabinet or the like with fixed or movable compartments for standing or hanging up the folders therein, said cabinet being tted with an index panel carrying index strips upon which the contents of each folder in alphabetic order are shown against the numbers or other references which appear on tabs attached sequentially in staggered arrangement to the folders. Since the eiciency of such a tiling system depends upon the most convenient arrangement of the index panel-s which are intended to permit a quick and ready general survey to be made of the files contained in each compartment, the invention which will be hereinafter described relates more particularly to land arranging index panels, Ior the like, for indexing folders kept in cabinets.

With stacked cabinets of similar construction .at least their position in relation to the angle of view at different compartment levels will differ.

For this reason it is an advantage if the index panels or the like are .arranged to be movable for instance about lateral pivot pins or hinges located above, yor below, or on one side of the panels in such manner that the panels can be adjusted to a position in which they will face the direction from which they .are viewed and thereby present the information they contain at the angle of optimum visibility.

Consequently an index panel associated with the bottom compartment, Iassuming the panel extends in the Vform of a band across the front of the folders, will be moved into a horizontal position, whereas a .panel associated with a compartment at eye level will be moved into a vertical position, and the intermediate panels into positions of increasing angularity in accord-ance with their consecutively lesser height from the floor. By thus arr-anging for the adjustability of the panels the excellent visibility of the indexes permits individual folders to be identitled quickly, easily, and without the likelihood of mistake. t

Alternatively, the index panels may -be located horizontally above the folders, or the like, in the compartments, each panel being preferably subdivided into sections which vare individual-ly imovable. This method of arranging the indexes is especially convenient in lower drawers as the angle of view will then be straight downwards when the relative drawers are pulled out. The folders may be extracted after the index panels have been moved upwards and out of the way.

On the other hand, the lateral arrangement of movable index panels in drawer cabinets will be preferred if the level of the drawers is such that they cannot be conveniently looked into from above. In such a case it is better to provide drawers without `side walls and to locate the tabs, indexes, guide cards, and so forth, on the other side of the drawer as is conventionally done in so-called side extraction ling systems.

The index panel which in the latter case is likewise divided into separate sections is arranged to be moved downwards when the desired reference has been ascertained so that the required folder can be pulled out.

Patented June 7, 1966 ICC This arrangement of folders and index panels permits seven drawers with normal sized `folders to be placed the one a-bove the other in such manner that even the top drawer will still be conveniently accessible from the side for the removal and replacement of the folders. The contents of the uppermost drawer will still be within aver-age reach. It was hitherto impossible to superpose more than four, and at most ve drawers since a person had to be exceptionally tall to look down into the top drawer of tive.

An arrangement of a drawer-type tiling cabinet designed on the basis of the side extraction system n conjunction with appropriate index panels therefore solves the -increasingly difficult problem of finding space `for large ling systems.

Instead of band-'shaped index panels, for instance slidable indexes of tablet shape may be provided in vertical, inclined, or horizontal positions in front of, above,

or to the side of the folders, said panels being held inone or more rails in which they can be slidably moved to and fro. A vertical arrangement of index panels is more convenient in compartments located at eye level or higher. In lower compartments an obliquely inclined, and in the bottom compartment a horizontal, position will be best to conform with the angle from which the respective index is normally seen.

For the purpose of facilitating rapid identification another possibility, especially in the case of drawer-type tiling cabinets, is to providestrip indexes in horizontal and vertical groups held in rails on the face of the drawers.

If it is not desirable that such an index should be immediately visible to any person who happens to enter the office, suitable hinged flaps may be secured above or below or on the side of the index panels. This has the further advantage that the inside faces of the flaps oder additional indexing space so that anydesirable enlargement of the index could 'be readily put into effect.

It will, of course be understood that the outside faces of flaps could also be employed for`enlarging the size of the index.

Simple, convenient, and economical as this solution of the ling problem appears to be, it has nevertheless never been `suggested before. This is probably due to the fact that in the past the most convenient form of indexing the tiles was thought to be that of providing the folders themselves with identifyingdescriptions and arranging them in strict alphabetical order. Moreover the Iadvantages in folder ling systems of combining an index with folders arranged by code numbers based on the decimal system do not appear to have been appreciated. Hitherto the drawer faces were merely provided with short references to their contents, such as words like Files from A-E.

If very compendious indexes are required the backing plates or the like may be provided with guide rails for slidable index cards. Such cards may also be provided on the inside of the faces of drawers.

Other advantages and details of the invention will be disclosed in the course of the following description of embodiments shown in the Iaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial view of a drawer-type cabinet,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the indexing system illustrated in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a View of part of a drawer-type cabinet with vertical index panels.

FIG. l is a drawer-type filing cabinet 46 with drawers 47 on extendable pull-out sliding r-ails 48. On their edges at the side of the drawer the folders are provided with tabs 4 which are staggered in groups of tens and thus form a filing register. Inserted between each group ,of ten folders is a .guide plate 5 with a tab extension 6. Slidably mounted in a guide in front of these lateral edges is a vertical-index panel 49. The drawer is divided down the centre and both sides carry folders in similar arrangement.

This side arrangement of the filing register is an advantage in drawers situated above the eye level as these are too high t0 be viewed from Iabove. The `open-side arrangement permits folders to be easily identified, removed, and replaced.

Instead of an upright slidable index panel, fiap-type panels 51 which can be tilted on hinges, as shown in FIG. 3, and which carry an index on one or both faces may ,beprovided, such panels being preferably subdivided into a plurality of separate sections. Known means may be employed to erect the panels into upright position when the drawer is closed.

Drawers of this kind may also be provided with double-sided -ap type index panels 52 arranged above the folders, as is likewise shown in FIG. 1. These fiaps can be tilted through an angle of 180. Such an arrangement is especially Iapt for the lower drawers in a cabinet, as the user can look straight down at v'the indexes.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flap index 52 of the described kind and the manner in which it is hinged at 54 to a centre partition 53.

. In the case of very large filing systems the guide plates 5 may be provided with guide orv index cards 57 held between rails 55 and provided with projecting finger t-abs 56 for pulling them out (FIG. 2). The guide plates 5 may be slidably mounted in rails 53m.

As an alternative to placing them lon the sides of, above, or between the folders, index panels 58 (FIG. 1) may be aiixed to the front face of the drawer. This is a useful arrangement for upper drawers but not so convenient on lower drawers, because their vertical position then makes them difficult to be read.

To overcome this objection such index panels 58 may be arranged to tilt on hinges 60 or the like aixed to their upper edges sothat the index can be adjusted to any position of angularity 58a (in dotted outline) (FIG. 1').

FIG. 3 illustrates an arrangement of vertical index cards affixed to the face of the drawer.

Although there has been described a preferred embodiment of this novel invention, many varia-tions and modifications will now be apparent to those skilled in thev art. Therefore, this invention is to be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending p claims.

I-claim:

1. Filing apparatus comprising a cabinet having an yopening in a wall thereof; a plurality of structures within said cabinet; each of said structures defining a compartment adapted to house a plurality of folders; first means mounting a first of said structures for movement relative to said cabinet and through' said opening with an end of said structure moving parallel to a side of said cabinet; index means including a panel, labeling means removably mounted to said panel and containing indicia indicating respective contacts of a plurality of lfolders lmounted in the compartment defined by said first structure; second means mounting said panel to said first structure for movement therewith as well as for movement with respect thereto; said second mounting means permitting said panel to be in a plane generally parallel to said side of said cabinet.

2. Filing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said end of said first structure is open sufficiently to permit folders to be inserted and withdrawn therethrough.

3. Filing apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which the second means extends generally parallel to said side of said cabinet and said panel is slidably displaceable with respect to said side of said first structure.

4. Filing appar-atus as set forth in claim 3 in which said panel is also pivotally mounted with respect to said second means.

5. Filing apparatus as set forth in claim V4 in which said lfirst structure also includes a front adjacent and yat right angles to -the end of said first structure, said panel for all positions thereof, lies in planes generally at right angles to the front of said `first structure.

6. Filing apparatus -as set forth in claim 1 in which the indexmeans also indicates at least one additional panel having labeling means removablymounted thereto, all of said panels being mounted to said second means.

7. Filing apparatus as set forth in claim 6 in which each of the panels is approximately a quarter of the depth of the compartment defined by the first structure.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 783,126 2/ 1905 McCaskey 312-234.2

793,642 7/1905 Drain 129-16 923,939 6/1909 Braun S12-234.5 X 1,031,321 7/1912 Cahn S12-234.2 1,157,159 10/1915 Hick v 312-234.2 1,596,225 8/ 1926 Andersson 129-16 1,756,415 4/1930 Wood 312--2345 X 1,929,095 10/1933v Hutchings 312-234.4 2,336,572 12/1943 Schuessler S12-234.2 2,770,515 11/1956 La Barre 213-209 2,888,811 6/1959 Hargrave S12-234.5 X

CLAUDE A. LE ROY., Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, FRANK B. SHERRY, Examiners. 

1. FILLING APPARATUS COMPRISING A CABINET HAVING AN OPENING IN A WALL THEREOF; A PLURALITY OF STRUCTURES WITHIN SAID CABINET; EACH OF SAID STRUCTURES DEFINING A COMPARTMENT ADAPTED TO HOUSE A PLURALITY OF FOLDERS; FIRST MEANS MOUNTING A FIRST OF SAID STRUCTURES OF MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID CABINET AND THROUGH SAID OPENING WITH AN END OF SAID STRUCTURE MOVING PARALLEL TO A SIDE OF SAID CABINET; INDEX MEANS INCLUDING A PANEL, LABELING MEANS REMOVABLY MOUNTED TO SAID PANEL AND CONTAINING INDICIA INDICATING RESPECTIVE CONTACTS OF A PLURALITY OF FOLDERS MOUNTED IN THE COMPARTMENT DEFINED BY SAID FIRST STRUCTURES; SECOND MEANS MOUNTING SAID PANEL TO SAID FIRST STRUCTURES FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH AS WELL AS FOR MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT THERETO; SAID SECOND MOUNTING MEANS PERITTING SAID PANEL TO BE IN A PLANE GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID SIDE OF SAID CABINET. 